I decided I wanted to be closer to the theaters, and PRICELINE EXPRESS was showing a 4-star in Central Park South at an attractive price, which actually went down every time I rechecked. I finally hit the button today at $136. It turned out to be the Hudson, and I'm very unhappy. I had eliminated it as a possibility because it has a resort fee and there was no mention of such a fee before my purchase - or after it, for that matter. If you use Name Your Own Price for a 4-star in certain NYC zones, including CPS, you are alerted to the possibility of a fee; if you look up the Hudson on Priceline's transparent service, the fee is fully disclosed. This led me to believe I wouldn't get the Hudson (or the Park Lane or Park Central, which also have fees). The worst part is that Priceline's own Terms and Conditions state that for Express Deals you will be shown both the amount due to Priceline and the total amount you'll end up paying, including both the Priceline charge and the hotel fee. The fee was not disclosed either before or after I paid. It's particularly galling because I could have gotten a better hotel at a lower total cost if I had booked directly with any of several properties not too far away. I contacted Customer Service, first through the chat function and then (at the suggestion of the chat rep) by phone, and ran into a brick wall. The phone rep insisted that I had agreed to the possibility of a fee when I authorized payment. He said he had a screenshot to prove it, which he e-mailed to me. All it said in the relevant area was "I agree to the Terms and Conditions," with a link to the T&C page. As I noted above, the T&C say that for Express Deals any fee will be shown, so the screenshot proves nothing. This experience has soured me on Priceline, which I've used for years with no complaints. Even when the hotel was worse than I expected or treated me badly because I had booked through Priceline, I accepted it as the occasional price of getting a good deal. But when I'm forced to pay a fee that I never agreed to, I get so mad I can't see straight. I think hotel fees ought to be illegal anyway (if something is mandatory it should be bundled into the room rate), and I never expected to be boxed into paying one. I'd dispute it with my credit card company, but I don't think it would help; after all, *Priceline* isn't directly charging me more than I agreed to pay *them*. I greatly appreciate the help I've received from BetterBidding over the years, and of course I used the PRICELINE link for this purchase. But honestly, I don't know if I'll ever buy another hotel this way. I don't like doing business with companies that blow their customers off. For the sake of completeness, the amenities shown before purchase were Pets Allowed, Business Center, and Restaurant.
